Will Jay “Leading Man”

Will Jay told The Huffington Post that “I want to write the soundtrack for people’s lives, whether it’s a song that reminds them of a great time in their life or a song that simply gives them a good cry.” With a wealth of experience under his belt including his tenure in the boy band IM5, competing on Season 4 of The Voice of China, and the whirlwind of activity surrounding the release of his debut solo EP, Will is always able to the find the perfect words, the perfect music, and the perfect melody.

It’s a thrill to be partnering with Will Jay once again for the new “Leading Man” music video. We had the pleasure of working with Will for two videos last year: “Gentleman”, an intelligent yet endearing pop number, and “Christmas Come Early,” where Will stole our hearts with the doo-wop-styled number featuring rescue dogs that have either been adopted or are currently looking for their forever homes.

Directed by Sunny Beatz (who also directed “Gentleman”) and produced by Edgar Olazaba at Redwall Studio, the video is a statement about the “whitewashing” of Asians in Hollywood, where Asian characters are frequently portrayed by white actors. The “Leading Man” video opens to a casting director and his assistant discussing an “all-white kung fu movie”, saying, “People don’t want to see Asians in the films.”

Will (who is of Chinese and German descent) auditions to be the leading man, but the director tosses his resume aside immediately. When he leaves the theater, he sings and dances past movie posters for Ghost in the Spell, Doctor Estranged, and The Great Fall (all parodies of movies that were associated with whitewashing) which give him an idea. Will turns his hair blonde and his eyes blue, and when he returns to audition a second time, the director loves him. He gets into costume but once he’s in his dressing room backstage, he sees his true self in the mirror and realizes it’s not worth changing who he is.

Not satisfied with being typecast and relegated to the sidelines, Will Jay is ready to be seen as the “Leading Man” he knows he is. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to get the “Leading Man” music video into your cherished programming. For more information please contact Andy Gesner and the HIP Video Promo team at (732)-613-1779 or email us at [email protected]. You can also visit www.WillJayMusic.com for more info on Will Jay.

HIP Video Promo owner and president Andy Gesner recently sat down with Jesse Cannon from Musformation.com for an in-depth interview about the importance of music video promotion, as well as with James Moore from IndependentMusicPromotions.com. These two interviews go into great depth about who we are, what we do, and how HIP Video Promo can provide you the exposure and attention your new music video deserves!

Who we are

HIP Video Promo was founded in the year 2000 by it’s current owner Andy Gesner, and over the past 16 years, he and his team have promoted over 2600 music videos from some of the best of the best amongst indie nation, as well as some of the most well-known artists on the music industry landscape. Everybody who works at HIP Video Promo are musicians themselves, and are fully cognizant of what it’s like to be in the trenches fighting the good fight in this severely overcrowded music industry. We know what it takes to get the attention and exposure any new compelling band or artist is worthy of, and fight tenaciously on our client’s behalf.